Restorarium by Scott Newland from netherlands
designer's own words:
Architecture can help give structure and meaning to our experiences, help to place ourselves and our departed loved ones in the continuum of time, and help us ultimately to recognize and remember who we are.
Conceived of as both a resting place for the departed and a restorative place for the visitor, the Restorarium is a new envelope for the junction between life and death. It is a solid, still place for mourning, remembrance and contemplation. Above all, it is a place to uniquely reconnect with the departed. This timeless space - devoid of outer world distractions - reminds us there is a sense of eternity through remembrance.
A conical domed interior is comprised of a mosaic of bronze ‘torch’ lamps, which are engraved with the departed’s name similar to a gravestone. The sixty-foot high open-air oculus at the top of the dome helps to give us a new perspective on death, hope, and remembrance. Rainfall can flow freely to the central fountain. There is something profound about looking up at the sky - rather than down to a tombstone - to remember your loved one.
The mosaic represents our collective experiences of death and loss - reminding us we are not alone in this experience. A visitor can sign in to the interactive wall at the entrance and sync his/her mobile device to alert a loved one’s ‘torch’ of his/her presence. The visitor looks up to witness the loved one’s torch begin to glow amongst the surrounding bronze fabric, creating an intensely personal and private moment - a conversation - between the visitor and the departed’s light.
Life is so much more than the life of the body. The Restorarium seeks to remind us that life is an infinite expanse of energy, and (in the words of Carl Sagan) we are all made of star-stuff.
Inspired by a planetarium, which can display the stars at any place in time, the Restorarium invites us to contemplate the bigger picture of death, life, and eternity. We are all made of star-stuff.
The Restorarium is a powerful architectural experience which silences all external noise and focuses our attention on an intensely personal connection with the departed. 
Personalized circular bronze ‘torch’ lights form the mosaic of the domed interior. Engraved by the funeral director, they are presented to family/loved ones during the funeral ceremony before they are placed to rest in the domed ceiling.
The departed can be called upon by visitors and loved ones through their mobile device. The individual bronze ‘torch’ of your loved one will then begin to softly glow in the darkened chamber of the Restorarium.
Plan and exterior elevation
Section through open-air oculus of sixty-foot domed chamber